BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Pharyngoesophageal musculature plays an important role in swallowing, and prevents aspiration and supraesophageal reflux. These muscles are closed during the resting state and opens with swallowing to allow the passage of food. In this study, the histochemical characteristics of the upper esophageal sphincter muscles in human were investigated. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Muscle samples from the inferior pharyngeal constrictor, cricopharyngeus, upper esophageal muscle and sternocleidomastoid (SCM) muscle were obtained from the healthy portion of nine laryngectomized specimen. We used the H&E staining for identifying the gross anatomy of these muscles, and the myofibrillar ATPase staining and the NADH-TR staining for differentiating the muscle fiber type. RESULTS: Analysis of the muscle fiber types of the upper esophageal sphincter muscle revealed a predominance of type I in the cricopharyngeus (78.9%) and the upper esophageal muscle (85.2%), and type II in the inferior pharyngeal constrictor muscle (80%). In the SCM muscle, the percentage of each fiber type was almost the same. The proportion of oxidative fibers within these muscles correlated well to that of the type I fibers. CONCLUSION: The distribution of the type I fibers tended to be higher in the upper esophageal muscle than in the inferior pharyngeal constrictor. These findings about fiber types represents well the physiological features of each muscle, i.e. the inferior pharyngeal constrictors are capable of short rapid contraction and the upper esophageal muscles are capable of slow rhythmic movement.
Adenosine Triphosphatases ; Deglutition ; Esophageal Sphincter, Upper* ; Histocytochemistry ; Humans* ; Muscles ; Pharyngeal Muscles

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The objective of this study was to determine whether insulin resistance is associated with gallbladder stone formation in Korean women based on menopausal status. METHODS: The study included 4,125 consecutive Korean subjects (30-79 years of age). Subjects who had a medical history of diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, other cardiovascular disorders, or hormone replacement therapy were excluded. The women were subdivided into two groups according to their menopausal status. RESULTS: Analysis of premenopausal women showed no significant differences in the homeostasis model of assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) index between the two groups in terms of gallstone disease. The associations between the occurrence of gallbladder stones and age, obesity, abdominal obesity, hyperinsulinemia, and high HOMA-IR index were statistically significant in the analysis with postmenopausal women. In a multiple logistic regression analysis, low high density lipoprotein-cholesterol was an independent predictor of gallbladder stone formation in premenopausal women. However, the multiple logistic regression analysis also showed that age and HOMA-IR were significantly associated with gallbladder stone formation in postmenopausal women. In an additional analysis stratified by obesity, insulin resistance was a significant risk factor for gallbladder stone formation only in the abdominally obese premenopausal group. CONCLUSIONS: Insulin resistance may be associated with gallbladder stone formation in Korean postmenopausal women with abdominal obesity.
Adult ; Age Factors ; Aged ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group/*statistics & numerical data ; Chi-Square Distribution ; Female ; Gallstones/*ethnology/physiopathology/ultrasonography ; Humans ; Insulin Resistance/*ethnology ; Logistic Models ; Middle Aged ; Obesity, Abdominal/ethnology ; Odds Ratio ; Postmenopause/*ethnology ; Questionnaires ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology ; Risk Assessment ; Risk Factors

Lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma (LELC) occurs in esophagus, stomach, bile duct, salivary gland, lung, uterus, skin, and so on. The incidence of gastric LELC is 1~4 percents of all stomach cancers. Gastric LELC has a lymphoid stroma and shows a good prognosis and high association with Epstein-Barr virus. We experienced a case of patient with gastric LELC. The patient was 49-year-old woman. and the endoscopic finding showed a submucosal tumor with central erosion. The histologic findings of endoscopic biopsies were suggestive of low grade MALT lymphoma. but the histologic findings of the surgical specimen were consistent with gastric LELC. We report a case of gastric LELC presenting as a submucosal tumor, with a brief review of the literature.
Bile Ducts ; Biopsy ; Esophagus ; Female ; Herpesvirus 4, Human ; Humans ; Incidence ; Lung ; Lymphoma, B-Cell, Marginal Zone ; Middle Aged ; Prognosis ; Salivary Glands ; Skin ; Stomach ; Stomach Neoplasms ; Uterus

PURPOSE: To evaluate the incidence and clinical features of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in Korea. METHODS: Web-based (www.armd-nova.or.kr) registration was conducted for AMD patients aged 50 or more who were newly diagnosed by retinal specialists in Korea from August 20, 2005 to August 20, 2006. Patient data including ophthalmologic examination, fundus photography, fluorescein angiogram and/or indocyanin green angiogram (ICG), past medical history, behavioral habit, combined systemic diseases were up-loaded. RESULTS: Among finally enrolled 1,141 newly diagnosed AMD patients, 690 patients (60.5%) were male and 451 patients (39.5%) were female. The average age of AMD patients was 69.7+/-8.0. Early AMD was observed in 190 patients and 951 patients had late AMD. Classic choroidal neovascular membrane (CNVM) was observed in 18.6% of exudative AMD patients and 63.4 % had occult CNVM. Subfoveal CNVM was observed in 80.4% of the patients with CNVM. Among the 580 exudative AMD eyes that performed indocyanin green angiography (ICG), 184 eyes (31.7%) had polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) and 36 eyes (6.2%) showed retinal angiomatous proliferation (RAP). Age, male gender, smoking, diabetes and hypertension significantly increased the risk of the AMD among Koreans. CONCLUSIONS: Because of the low rate of participation by retinal specialists, definite incidence of AMD was not obtainable. However, the estimated 1-year AMD incidence in the Pusan area of Korea is at least 0.4%. In contrast to Western people, 31.7% of exudative AMD cases were revealed to be PCV and 6.2% were revealed to be RAP. This discrepancy between ethnic groups should be considered in the diagnosis and treatment modality selection of Korean AMD patients.
Aged ; Angiography ; Choroid ; Ethnic Groups ; Eye ; Female ; Fluorescein ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Incidence ; Korea ; Macular Degeneration ; Male ; Membranes ; Photography ; Retinaldehyde ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Specialization